ELYRIA TAX INCREASE PLAN DERAILED

Elyria – An innocent inquiry by a Councilman to a citizen after Monday night’s Council meeting has just derailed the idea of placing a tax increase on this May’s ballot.

Elyria City Council voted 7 to 4 in favor of placing a tax proposal on ballot for this May. The double proposal would make the tax increase permanent and a permanent income tax credit reduction – both would be on a single ballot, vote for one vote for both.

Voting for the measure: Forrest Bullocks, Donna Mitchell, Ken Burkhard, Kevin Brubaker, Tom Callahan, Mike Lotko and Vic Stewart.

Voting against the measure: Larry Tanner, Garry Gibbs, Mark Craig, and Kevin Krischer.

At the end of the meeting, Brian Allen of Heavy Duty Graphics said he spoke with Councilman Garry Gibbs – Gibbs questioned if the issue needed a simple majority or a 2/3rds vote, Allen said he would research the City Charter when he got home.

Allen said that as he read the Charter around midnight he couldn’t believe what he saw. “They can’t do it – by City Charter they are unable to pass this measure. In the Charter it states that they would have to pass this 90 days before the date of the election – right now we are 78 days away from the election. They waited too long.”

Allen contacted Council members Tuesday morning who were just as shocked by the discovery. Councilman Garry Gibbs said that the Mayor and his administration dropped the ball on this one. “They are not in touch with reality anymore – they are very irrational in their thinking. The Mayor has his own private Council who we pay in excess of $50,000 a year, he has all the Service Directors and the Law Directors office with all the Lawyers and still they didn’t know this. This ordinance was passed in May of 2007, not May of 1867 – it wasn’t a matter of dusting off the books to find this. If you ask me they were asleep at the wheel on this one.”

Councilman Gibbs said that although this issue is off the table for May, an emergency property tax could be placed on the May ballot. “That is a possibility but it is certainly one that I would vote against as well and I don’t see it getting through Council.”

The Ordinance, which was part of a referendum brought forth by Councilman Mark Craig, reads as follows:
SECTION 20.04 VOTER APPROVAL OF INCOME TAX.
Any ordinance or resolution listed below in paragraphs (a) or (b) will not become effective, after passage thereof, until Council submits such ordinance or resolution to the electorate at a regular municipal or general election occurring more than ninety (90) days after the passage of the ordinance or resolution, and such ordinance or resolution is approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon in the city:
(a) One approving or providing for any increase, or the renewal or the extension of any increase in the municipal income tax rate charged upon any and all income taxable within the City of Elyria; or
(b) One approving or providing for any decrease, or the renewal or extension of any decrease in the municipal income tax credit allowable for any and all income taxable within the City of Elyria. (Enacted 5-8-07)

Councilman Gibbs said that with the amount of staff that the Mayor has at his disposal this should have been caught. “They should have had this double and triple checked before hand – this is incredible.”

For Allen’s part he said he didn’t go searching for this to cause trouble. “My intent was not to cause people to loose their jobs; rather I was concerned for the ramifications of an illegal tax and the excessive burden it could bring the citizens of Elyria, if this tax were challenged in court six months down the road. I just hope citizens on both sides of the issue can come together and realize the fault of this rests at the feet of Mayor Grace and his decision to wait so long.”

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